Collaborative Research: Bridging Paleolimnology And Archaeology Through Human Biomarkers In Lake Sediment

了解一段时间内的人口水平对于回答有关社会的许多问题至关重要。那是久远的过去。例如，不断增长的人口水平是否导致了重大的社会变革，比如农业的采用，更复杂的社会和政治等级制度，或者加剧的战争？新地区的殖民化、环境危机或国家崩溃等重大事件如何影响人口水平？传统上，考古学家通过考古调查来估计过去的人口统计，但这并不总是可能的（例如，在人口密度低、流动性高的人类定居阶段，或者在由于茂密的植被或冲积物导致地表能见度低的地区）。研究湖泊和其他水体的古湖泊学有可能提供相关信息。这个跨学科项目旨在确定古代湖泊沉积物中最近定义的生化标志物是否可以作为人类种群水平随时间变化的可靠指标。私家侦探伊丽莎白·阿库什博士，合伙私家侦探。奥布里·希尔曼博士、Josef Werne博士和Mark Abbott博士将利用美国国家科学基金会的支持，分析2015年从秘鲁南部的的的喀喀湖盆地的小湖泊中恢复的湖芯沉积物。如果成功，这项技术将具有重建区域人口历史的巨大潜力。此外，由于湖芯序列也有其他重要的信息，如降水水平，这项技术有望通过减少时间上的不确定性来调查人类种群和环境变化之间的关系，这种不确定性来自于匹配单独的气候和人口记录。最近的研究表明，粪便固醇这是一类从高等哺乳动物粪便中提取的有机化合物，在湖泊沉积物中存在可测量的数量。其存在和数量应反映湖泊流域的人口水平，特别是粪前列醇，这是人类粪便中主要的固醇类型。该项目旨在通过比较安第斯山脉中南部两个湖泊岩心中的固醇与两次完整的考古调查得出的种群水平序列，来评估和扩大这种生物标志物在考古研究中的应用。除了推进重建过去人口统计的新方法外，由此产生的数据集有可能在哥伦比亚前社会政治变化与古气候之间的联系问题上取得重大进展。这个项目吗?更广泛的影响包括为本科生和研究生提供重要的培训和研究机会。

Understanding human population levels over time is fundamentally important for answering numerous questions about society?s deep past. For instance, were rising population levels responsible for spurring major social transformations, like the adoption of agriculture, more complex social and political hierarchies, or intensified warfare? How were population levels affected by major events like the colonization of new areas, environmental crises, or the collapse of states? Traditionally, archaeologists arrive at estimates of past demography through archaeological survey, but this is not always possible (e.g., for phases of human settlement with low population densities and high mobility, or in regions with poor surface visibility of sites due to thick vegetation or alluvial deposition). Paleolimnology, the study of lakes and other bodies of water , has the potential to provide relevant information. This interdisciplinary project aims to establish whether recently defined biochemical markers in ancient lake sediment can serve as reliable proxies for human population levels over time. P.I. Dr. Elizabeth Arkush, Co-P.I. Dr. Aubrey Hillman, Co-PI Dr. Josef Werne, and Co-PI Dr. Mark Abbott will use National Science Foundation support to analyze sediments in lake cores recovered in 2015 from small lakes in the Titicaca Basin of southern Peru. If successful, this technique will hold major potential for reconstructing the demographic histories of regions. In addition, because lake core sequences also have other significant information such as precipitation levels, this technique holds promise for investigating the relationship between human populations and environmental change by reducing the chronological uncertainty that comes from matching separate climate and population records. Recent research shows that fecal ?stanols?, a class organic compounds deriving from feces of higher mammals, are present in measurable amounts in lake sediments. The presence and quantity should reflect human population levels in the lake watershed, particularly coprostanol, which is the major stanol type in human feces. This project aims to evaluate and expand the utility of this biomarker for archaeological research by comparing stanols in cores from two lakes in the south-central Andes with sequences of population levels derived from two completed full-coverage archaeological surveys. In addition to advancing new methodology for the reconstruction of past demography, the resulting dataset has the potential to make significant advances on questions about the connection between pre-Columbian sociopolitical change and paleoclimate. The project?s broader impacts include significant training and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.